Oh, So Cold
by FallenNephilim
Summary: Now that he'd let himself care – now that he'd let someone else see that he cared – it'd would be that much harder to pretend that he didn't. But it was okay; Daryl was good at pretending to be cold. Daryl/Glenn


It was hard to pretend he didn't care.

Those bastards had grabbed Glenn, pulled him away while Daryl lay on the ground, momentarily incapacitated after they'd gotten their fill of beating him. But he was tough, Merle had made sure of that, and he'd been on his feet mere seconds after the two had turned their attention away from him.

But it hadn't been nearly fast enough.

And Daryl hadn't tried as hard as he should have, instead he'd just sat there aiming his damned crossbow at them even though the only thing he could chance hitting was the one man's ass, unless he wanted to risk hitting Glenn. The arrow to the ass hadn't slowed them down enough, though, and before Daryl could do anything more they, with Glenn in tow, had made it over to a car they'd parked nearby and sped off.

But what made it even worse was that horrible, gut-wrenching terror Daryl had seen in Glenn's eyes. It had chilled him to the bone almost as much as the way the young Korean had screamed for him.

_"Daryl! Daryl!"_

It was so hard to pretend he didn't care.

And when they'd captured the member of the gang who'd jumped him, a young man no older than Glenn himself, Daryl knew they had their bargaining chip, and he could see the acquiescence on Rick and T-Dog's faces. So they made the boy tell them where the gang was holed up, and he showed them the way.

But when they got there, things did not go as planned. And Daryl knew then that there was nothing they could do but back off. The gang had made it clear; they wanted the bag of guns and the boy or they wouldn't get Glenn back.

And so Daryl pretended it didn't bother him.

They'd taken refuge back in the old building they'd left the bag of guns in, giving themselves a chance to think over what had happened. Daryl knew what he wanted to do, but he knew that T-Dog wouldn't listen to him, and Rick thought he was irrational and hot-tempered so he wouldn't listen either. The thing that neither of them understood, though, was that Daryl only got that way around people he cared about, and at the moment there were only two people that fit that quota.

One was missing after cutting his hand off to escape the Walkers and the handcuffs that had kept him chained to the roof.

And the other was bound and gagged in the hands of some ruthless gang of bastards.

But Daryl didn't say that out loud, because that wasn't him. He'd grown up with a useless father and a brother who'd called him a wuss if he ever cried over anything, and that had made him as hard as steel. He'd cared for no one but his brother until Glenn came along, and even then he'd be damned if either ever saw him cry.

"Those guns are worth mo' than gold," Daryl said, "You willin' to give that up for that kid?"

He could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth, though. It made him look and sound oh, so cold. So much colder than he actually was, and it sickened him, but he couldn't take them back now. In response Rick just gave him a sort of horrified look, and Daryl fell silent. But there was no way to express his relief when just moments later Rick said they'd go rescue Glenn.

Daryl wondered if that was the best solution, though. But honestly right then all he cared about was getting to Glenn. And if that ugly prick had laid a hand on him at all, Daryl silently promised himself that he'd pull the man's teeth out one by one and wear them around his neck as a trophy.

And Daryl always kept his promises.

But when they got there things turned out completely different from how he imagined they would. In the end they found out that the gang was actually just protecting an abandoned retirement home, along with the elderly men and women who still resided inside. And, to top it all off, they hadn't hurt Glenn at all either, just shook him up a bit.

Daryl's relief was, again, inexpressible.

So they got Glenn back safe and sound, and then they were off again and heading back to their van to stash the guns before resuming the search for Merle, but Daryl stopped them, because he'd suddenly realized that there was something he needed to do.

"I'll meet you back at the van," he said, making the others pause.

Rick frowned, "Where are you going?"

"I just need to check on somethin' real quick."

Rick still looked a bit unsure, but he gave in nonetheless, "Alright, well don't be too long. We need to hurry this up and get back to camp."

Daryl nodded, "Glenn, come with me."

"Me?" Glenn blinked, "Why?"

"Just come _on_, boy."

Glenn shrugged and shouldered his gun, following Daryl as he led the way around the corner of the nearest building. Once there Daryl checked to make sure that there were no Walkers nearby, and then as soon as he was sure they were out of Rick and T-Dog's sights he grabbed Glenn, shoving the Korean boy up against the nearest wall.

Glenn's eyes widened, "Hey!" He gasped, struggling as the bigger man held him down, "Daryl, what -?"

Daryl put a hand over his mouth, cutting him off, and that fear suddenly flashed in Glenn's eyes again, and suddenly Daryl didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't some emotional little pussy; he didn't sit there and talk about his feelings. In fact, he didn't even _know_ what he was feeling.

"You okay?" He finally grunted out, his voice a bit more gruff than he meant it to be.

Glenn swallowed hard and stared at him, obviously confused.

"I said, you okay, boy?" Daryl repeated, leaning closer.

Glenn went rigid and nodded quickly and suddenly Daryl didn't know what to do again. The relief at the knowledge that Glenn was truly unharmed slammed into him like a brick wall, nearly buckling his knees from the force, and he ended up having to pull his hand away from Glenn's mouth and bow his head, giving himself a moment to let go of all the worry and stress he'd built up in the last few hours.

"Good," he said after a few moments, "That's good."

Glenn stared at him, confused and frightened and unsure as he kept himself pressed back against the wall, unwilling to try and move lest it set the bigger man on him again.

"Daryl . . . I, uh, I don't understand," he admitted.

"That's all I needed to know." Daryl said, the gruffness coming back into his voice, "Now go on, an' hurry it up. We need to get back to the others."

Glenn nodded, still looking confused but not nearly as frightened, and that made Daryl feel a little bit better about scaring him so badly before. Still, he knew it'd be different from now on, because now that he'd let himself care – now that he'd let someone else see that he cared – it'd would be _that much harder_ to pretend that he didn't.

But it was okay; Daryl was good at pretending to be cold.


End file.
